Rivers in the Wood-Tikchik system?

[BluNosDav]

Planning a family fishing & camping trip out to Wood-Tikchik State Park next summer. We could save quite a bit on air transportation if we fly into and out of Dillingham commercially, and then launch & recover our cat-a-raft (with motor) from Aleknagik, rather than pay to get dropped off via float plane up at the top of the lakes system.

But, can a fairly heavily loaded Leopard cat-a-raft, powered by a 20hp outboard, motor upstream on the short rivers that connect the lakes?

Specifically the: Agulowak River? Agulukpak River? Wind River?
(listed in order of traveling UP through the W-T system)

Thanx, Dave.

 

[Troy Hamon]

Depends on the water level and how fast your boat will go in that configuration. If the water is low, you will have to walk it up significant portions of both. If the water is high, you may have trouble making it past the fast section of rollers, especially on the Agulowak. Those are seriously jet boat rivers at low water, with extra doses of familiarity being pretty helpful. hey are also seriously rocky rivers. Based on the fact that you are asking here, I would assume you haven't done them at all. In which case I would say your odds of cracking your lower unit are pretty high. Usually you only turn somebody loose with a prop in a river like those after they have it solid in a jet and the water level is up high enough to make it work.

 

[AlaskaHippie]

Depends on the water level and how fast your boat will go in that configuration. If the water is low, you will have to walk it up significant portions of both. If the water is high, you may have trouble making it past the fast section of rollers, especially on the Agulowak. Those are seriously jet boat rivers at low water, with extra doses of familiarity being pretty helpful. hey are also seriously rocky rivers. Based on the fact that you are asking here, I would assume you haven't done them at all. In which case I would say your odds of cracking your lower unit are pretty high. Usually you only turn somebody loose with a prop in a river like those after they have it solid in a jet and the water level is up high enough to make it work.

Solid advice.

I'd add as well that this years water levels sucked on the rivers I was on in that area, based on last Winters (lack of) snowfall. And the way this Winters (lack of) snowfall has shaped up thus far.....Wellllllllllllll.....

 

[homerdave]

I guided out of Lake Beverly for years, and there is no way you can get a prop up the wind. The Pak is local knowledge high water only, even running it daily for years the guy I worked for still took lower units off his jet every once in a while....

 

[BluNosDav]

Thanx Guys! I'll start looking at other alternatives.

 

[Catch It]

Lived and worked on that system for about 8 years......the above is completely true. Both the Agulawok and Agulukpak are full of sharp edged can openers and they don't run like a normal freestone river, if I didn't know them I would never guess the way to run them despite all my time on them. Several stretches are just wide lookin whitewater. There is no good channel, but there is a best one. THe Peace and the Wind run more normally but they are also way to0 shallow for a prop (the peace can be done at high spring water, they used to take barges up to Golden Horn lodge back in the day.) The wind has several high gradient stretches that would have to be like a firehose to get a prop up.

If you did it in the first two weeks of June, you could make it to Beverly (Third Lake). Any time after that it would require so much rain you wouldn't want to be there (but it happens).

However, the flight up and to float down is about as cheap as you are gonna get for such a cool piece of country, but if it's about $$$, I guess look elsewhere.

 

[Troy Hamon]

Did not notice the question included the Wind River. Been covered pretty well but I was just going to say...did the entire system, including the Wind, with a prop on a little 12 foot aluminum can of questionable age and origin somewhere around 1995 or 96. Never hit a thing. Water was high. Really high. Fun trip. I knew them all like my own living room. Which I needed on that adventure.

 

[Troy Hamon]

Other thing...if you really want to do this trip you have 3 options as I see it. Do the trip and settle for exploring Aleknagik. Pretty cool lake by itself. If conditions allow and you can get up to Nerka, added bonus and lots of lake to get lost on. If you spend the time there that is a pretty nice trip all by itself. If you want to see the upper lakes you either need an appropriate jet boat or you need a drop off.